RNS Morning Report: Presidential funeral; Tanzania crackdown; ‘Christmas Mubarak’ play

The casket of former President George H.W. Bush is carried past former President George W. Bush, President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, former President Obama, Michelle Obama, former President Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President Carter, and Rosalynn Carter. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Need to know: Thursday, December 6, 2018

George H.W. Bush’s ‘quiet faith’ remembered at cathedral funeral

The elder Bush’s eldest child, former President George W. Bush, gave an emotional tribute to his father, noting his dedication to faith and family.

LGBT people flee Tanzania amid police crackdown

'I’m fearing for my life,' said one man before crossing the border to Kenya. 'Police are breaking into homes of suspected homosexuals and arresting them.'

A new play, ‘Christmas Mubarak,’ mixes Christian and Muslim stories of Jesus’ birth

A Chicago theater company hopes its first-of-a-kind mashup will illustrate how much Christianity and Islam actually have in common.

It’s time for a grand compromise on religious freedom and contraceptives

While they can still negotiate from a position of power, the proponents of religious liberty should offer to negotiate a grand compromise on reproductive rights, writes Thomas Reese.

Dorothy Day — ‘a saint for our times’

Dorothy Day, who died 38 years ago this week, was able to discern beauty in the midst of her harsh and demanding life. In that, she has a lesson for the times we live in, writes Sandra Yocum.

Satanic Sculpture Installed At Illinois Statehouse, Just In Time For The Holidays

In the Illinois Capitol rotunda this month, there's a Nativity scene for Christmas, a menorah for Hanukkah, and then something a little different: an arm holding an apple, with a snake coiled around it.

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Evangelical retailer John Wanamaker built fortune by blending faith with business

John Wanamaker saw his legendary department store — one of the first in the nation — as a pulpit, according to a new book.

Southern Baptist minister embroiled in election fraud controversy

The allegations are awkward for Harris, who made a name for himself in the Tar Heel state as a conservative crusader and once argued for greater involvement for pastors in politics.

Faith groups in Tijuana rise to meet needs of migrant caravan waiting at the border

In a border city overwhelmed with more than 6,000 asylum-seekers, one group had bulked up its meal program to serve more than 1,200 breakfasts a day.

More views from RNS

Why is Hanukkah so darn long?

As the Hebrew acronym on the four-sided top (dreidel) we gamble with on the holiday reminds us, “Nes gadol hayah sham”—A Great Miracle Happened There, writes Mark Silk

New film profiles boxer Pardeep Singh Nagra and his fight for religious freedom

When the Canadian Amateur Boxing Association prohibited him from competing because of his beard, this Sikh athlete decided to fight to change the rules, writes Simran Jeet Singh.

China’s repression of Uighurs won’t stop until the international community intervenes

The world at large needs to organize itself to address a crackdown on Muslim minorities whose heroic fight against repression we have so far comfortably ignored, writes Jacob Lupfer.

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